Kirby (SSBB)/Neutral special

Overview

The move's name is Inhale, where Kirby opens his mouth wide open and then begins to vacuum, creating a vortex of wind. The move can be used for an infinite duration as long as the B button is held down and nothing interrupts Kirby. The move can be stopped by releasing the B button, or if Kirby flinches. Its main purpose is to suck up a nearby opponent. With an opponent inhaled and Kirby bloated by them Kirby can move around although his movement speed is low and he cannot move very quickly. If Kirby does not do anything with the inhaled opponent, they will eventually escape in a few moments and Kirby will be knocked back. Due to functioning in the same way as a grab release Kirby gains guaranteed follow ups against Ness and Lucas if this happens although Donkey Kong can punish Kirby if this occurs.

The first option is that Kirby can copy an opponent's neutral special move, while popping them out for 6% damage - performed by pressing the B button or by tilting the control stick down. This allows Kirby to use their said neutral special move in place of Inhale, and gains a hat resembling that character (for example, if Kirby copies Mario, he will be able to use Fireball, and gains a hat identical to his). There are a couple of exceptions such as with Olimar where instead of copying Pikmin Pluck, Kirby will gain a unique attack where he chucks Pikmin out of the ground. However, Kirby can also lose the copied special move and hat by either being attacked enough so that a star resembling that ability drops out of him, being KO'd, or if he decides to discarding it by taunting. Note that if Kirby uses this option after inhaling another Kirby, he won't gain an ability or hat, unless the Kirby being inhaled has a copied ability; the inhaler would gain that ability while the inhaled Kirby would lose it. A list of copy abilities that Kirby can gain can be seen here.

The second option allows Kirby to simply shoot out the inhaled opponent, by pressing the A button. This deals 10% and the opponent is sent in the direction Kirby is facing with decent range. This causes the spit out opponent to become a projectile. Any bystanders hit by the spit out opponent will be hit for 9%-18% damage depending on the spat opponent's weight and decent to high knockback.

One infamous option that Kirby can perform is "Kirbycide", a Sacrificial KO. It involves Kirby inhaling the opponent offstage so they both fall down into the lower blast line, KOing the pair of them simultaneously. This technique can quickly remove a stock from both players as it forces Kirby to fall abnormally fast. Kirby can also potentially footstool his opponent if they escape before reaching the blast zone.

Inhale has limited use in competitive play, as it is laggy, short ranged, and Kirby has better options outside of in teams. Inhale can be a decent tool off stage in order to initiate a sacrificial KO and Kirby also has some benefits when using certain copy abilities. Kirby's small size allow him to use his copy abilities lower to the ground making them harder for grounded opponents to avoid and his fall speed/short hop height can give him additional benefits while using them in the air. Notably, Kirby can make great use of the space animals' lasers due to his aforementioned traits meaning that he can dish out more lasers while he is in the air and he can laser lock more characters with Falco's Lasers than Falco can due to his smaller size.

Timing

Grab startup	18-19
Grab loop + windboxes	20-
Animation length (from release)	19

Legend (1 square = 1 frame)

Lag time

Loop point

Flinchless hitbox

Grab

Interruptible

Copy ability changes

• Mario's Fireballs have a shorter duration and travel a shorter distance.
• Due to his lower short hop, Kirby can use Luigi's fireballs much more effectively than Luigi can.
• Falcon Punch has less range (5u/3.5u/3.5u → 4.8u/3u/3u).
• Falcon Punch hits lower to the ground. This makes it harder to hit aerial opponents but makes it easier to hit grounded opponents.
• Falcon Punch deals more knockback (30 (base), 93 (scaling) → 30/102 (grounded), 40/102 (aerial)). Additionally, if Kirby uses Falcon Punch in conjunction with a jump, he will gain a ton of height (much more than Captain Falcon does).
• Due to his lower fall speed, Kirby can use four of Fox's Lasers or three of Falco's Lasers in a short hop (as opposed to three and two respectively). This allow allows him to auto-cancel Wolf's Lasers in a short hop. Kirby's shorter height also allows him to laser lock more characters than Falco can.
• Due to his lower fall speed, Kirby is capable of auto-canceling Link's Hero's Bow in a short hop. It also has less ending lag (FAF 30 → 25).
• However unlike Toon Link, Kirby cannot perform a Quickdrawn arrow after using an aerial arrow in a short hop. Kirby also cannot lock opponents with Link's arrow due to their altered angle (361° → 70°).
• Nayru's Love has less range.
• Warlock Punch hits lower. This makes it harder to hit aerial opponents but makes it easier to hit grounded opponents. The aerial version also has increased base knockback (30 → 40) but the reversed aerial version has less base knockback (40 → 30).
• Mach Tornado's loop hits have smaller hitboxes (5u/5u/5u/5u → 5u/5u/4.5u/4.5u). Some of its hitboxes also don't cause hitstun. Altogether, these changes make Kirby's version significantly easier to escape and overall much less effective.
• Mach Tornado's final hit has a larger hitbox (11u → 13u).
• The arrows from Palutena's Bow hit lower making them more effective against grounded opponents.
• Charge Shot produces smaller projectiles.
• Paralyzer hits lower to the ground and deals more damage when fully charged (6% → 7%).
• PK Flash and PK Freeze don't reach as high vertically. This means that Kirby cannot fully charge PK Freeze if he is on the ground.
• Aura Sphere is not affected by aura so it is a consistent size and deals consistent damage (13%-26% → 18%).
• Shield Breaker hits lower to the ground and has less ending lag (FAF 42 → 36 (uncharged)/35 (charged)).
• Shield Breaker has much less range.
• Chef can be absorbed. This hinders Kirby's version in 1v1s and free for alls but improves its utility in doubles as Mr. Game & Watch can absorb Chef which he typically cannot do.
• When copying Olimar, Kirby plucks Pikmin out of the ground and throws them. Unlike with Pikmin Throw, they cannot latch onto opponents.
• Kirby shoots Robo Beam lower to the ground.

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Kirby's moveset

Neutral attack (1 · 2 · inf) · Forward tilt · Up tilt · Down tilt · Dash attack · Forward smash · Up smash · Down smash
Neutral aerial · Forward aerial · Back aerial · Up aerial · Down aerial
Grab · Pummel · Forward throw · Back throw · Up throw · Down throw
Forward roll · Back roll · Spot dodge · Air dodge · Techs
Floor attack (front) · Floor getups (front) · Floor attack (back) · Floor getups (back) · Floor attack (trip) · Floor getups (trip)
Edge attack (fast) · Edge getups (fast) · Edge attack (slow) · Edge getups (slow)
Neutral special · Side special · Up special · Down special · Final Smash